Amsterdam!

As of Saturday evening, I have officially been back from Amsterdam. I went with my mom, and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Luckily I wasn't very jet lagged. Although the flight from Chicago to Amsterdam was long, I wasn't too bored, thanks to in-seat personal TV's with at least 20 movies, music, games and TV programs made 8 hours go by quickly! Despite getting sick from something I ate on the way to Amsterdam, the food on the way to Chicago was surprisingly good for airline food.

We stayed at the Grand Armath, a nice hotel right on the canal and close to major attractions. Oh yeah, I shouldn't forget to mention the incredibly good-looking guys at the front desk. :D We arrived Friday morning (7/24) and walked around. Later that afternoon, my friend Megan came and spent the entire weekend with us. It was so nice spending time with her, even if I had a mild stomach bug the first two days (most likely from the awful vegetarian meal I had on the plane--it was so bad that we canceled them for our return flight). Besides having Megan stay at the hotel with us, I took the train to Utrecht to see her and her sister. The three of us got coffee and walked around a pretty park.

I visited 5 museums during the week I was there. Megan and I went to FOAM and the Hermitage together. FOAM is the photography museum and they had exhibits on black and white photos, various African countries, a fashion slide show, and a photographer who took multiple photos of a tree but focused on different angles/space. The Hermitage was my favorite museum as they had a fabulous collection of clothes, artifacts, and paintings from the Russian Czarist era. Not only was it awesome to see the pretty dresses and cool artifacts, but this exhibit instantly brought me back to AP lit, where I read Tolstoy's Anna Karenina. Megan and I also met up with my mom at the Rikjsmuseum (Royal Museum), where they had a collection of Vermeer and Rembrandt paintings, as well as various Asian artifacts and dollhouses dating back to the 1600's. My mom and I went to Anne Frank's house and the Van Gogh Museum. Anne Frank's house was just what I expected, very moving and intense. The Van Gogh Museum was awesome as well, having seen many pictures of his paintings, and finally being able to see them up close in person. My favorites are the sunflowers, almond blossoms, and his Japanese paintings (I love Asian art).

On a hot day, my mom and I decided to take a canal tour. As we were tired of walking around museums and town, we thought that the tour would be a nice change of pace. The canal was very cool. We had a nice view of various landmarks and old buildings from the boat, not to mention the cute (but gay) couple from Belgium.

Besides the canal tour and museums, we also went shopping and took a day trip to Haarlem. We went to the clothing flea market in Haarlem, which was disappointing, as most of the stuff was pretty touristy. Also, many of the major attractions were closed on Monday, but we did go to the church, which has the world's largest pipe organ and dead people under the floor.

We did a lot of shopping, and I bought some postcards for my collection from the FOAM and Van Gogh museums, a shirt from the flea market in Haarlem, and 2 pairs of shoes (plaid Mary Janes and rainboots with lips).

Unlike France, Amsterdam is not well-known for its food. That said, some meals were a lot better than others. We didn't pick the greatest restaurants at first, but then the meals got better. My favorite meals were those at Thai, Portugese, and Indonesian restaurants. We also stopped at a patissere for coffeees and shared a delicious lemon tart and chocolate mousse.

Well, this is the answer to "how was your trip to Amsterdam?" As you can expect, I took many pictures. That said, I can't fit them all here so I'm going to do several blogs with pictures from my trip to give you a closer look at Amsterdam. I hope you enjoyed reading about my trip (:

Hello in Mid-Summer!

Yesterday I have made a countdown calendar, and I have one month and 15 days until I go back to Portland. Because most of my friends from home are not currently in the Piedmont/Oakland/Berkeley area, I do not have a lot of people to hang out with, which makes me miss my college friends terribly. On the plus side, Amy gets back from NY today, so I'm going to call her this week and try to make a plan to have her stay with me for a few days in August. I'm really sad that she's not coming back to UP, so I really want to see her before I leave for school. Speaking of friends coming and leaving, I learned last week that my wonderful friend MacKenzie got her loan approved, which means she will be able to go back to Portland at least for next year. She's hoping to get a Providence scholarship that pays for her last two years at UP if she works at Providence Hospital (MacK's a nursing major) 3 years after graduation.

As far as travel goes, I have been busy packing and am very excited about my trip to Amsterdam. My mom and I have both never been and I'm particularly psyched to see Megan. She has been there for six months so far and I haven't seen her since January. Although I mentioned going to CT in my last blog, this is unfortunately not happening. I really want to see Cara and Caroline in one trip, and their busy schedules did not allow me to do so. Hopefully, I'll be able to see them next summer, or possibly winter or spring break. My bro and I are both off from work for a week in mid-August so my family might go somewhere.

I'm still enjoying my work at the camp, although it can be tiring (especially being outside in this hot weather!). Next Monday I start my home tutoring with Althea (she's also one of my campers). I will be working with her three days a week for a month for three hours in the morning. I'm so happy I'm doing something that will not only be fun, but also rewarding and an excellent experience for a psych major.

Next time you'll probably be hearing about my trip and seeing pictures of Amsterdam!

Believe it or not, I got a job!!!

After six long weeks of job hunting, I finally got a job. Most of you know I'm working at a camp for autistic kids every Tuesday for eight weeks. Yesterday, I just got a job through BIA (same agency as the camp) as a home tutor. Every client has an indvidualized plan with various academic and social goals, and a tutor goes to the client's home and implements it. With my client, I'll be facilitating playdates and helping her with math reading, and other self-help skills (ex: setting the table). I'll be staring the program mid-July and ending mid-August. I'll be working 3 mornings a week.

A few weekends ago, I went to visit friends in Oregon. I spent a few days with MacKenzie (who lives in Gresham) and Traci (who lives in Forest Grove). MacKenzie works at Red Robin, so we spent a lot of time in the mall where she works. Traci and I went to some graduation parties. Dana came to visit MacKenzie and I Sunday night, and we talked about boys, went on Facebook, and went to Red Robin. Mostly, I enjoyed spending time with my much missed girls.

Today I booked my flight to CT to see my wonderful girl Cara for a few days. My mom and I might go to Amsterdam at the end of July to see Megan. I've been doing a lot of babysitting, and its nice to have some extra $$. I'm saving up to study abroad in London next summer. Not to mention hanging out with friends...

Hope you're having an excellent summer wherever you are!

Summer Update 2

After about a month of job and volunteer hunting, I'm starting to feel more optimistic. For starters, I will be working as a student instructor at a camp for autistic kids for eight weeks. The problem is that it's only once a week for an hour and a half in the afternoon, so I'm still figuring out what to do the other days. I got my employee handbook with TONS of forms to sign--kind of overwhelming! I also picked up the results for my TB test (indicating that it was negative) and have a LiveScan appt next week. I expect this job to be a lot of fun and very rewarding, not to mention an excellent experience for a psych major.

Although it hasn't been easy, I'm starting to get over the loss of the nanny job in NJ. The more I think about it, the more I realize that the family would have been difficult to work for. When I was there, the mom was only home for 2 of the 24 hours I was there (she took me to her friends house instead of showing me around her own house!). She said she didn't hire me because she was upset that I didn't do the dishes (I don't remember he asking me to do them). I told the mom from the start that I would do any housekeeping neccesary IF she'd train me. Even though she said she would train me, she later said she was stressed about moving and didn't have time. I believe that employers are 100 percent entitled to make decisions on who to hire and the criteria they look for in potential employees. In this case, the mom lead me to believe I had the job and took it away from me at the last minute, so I don't think she handled the situation appropriately. Besides mine and the mom's personalities/needs, I also think the situation played a significant role. I think it would have been a different story if the family wasn't moving and wanted me to stay the whole summer because they were having problems with their nanny (which actually was the case). Seems like it was not meant to be...

Luckily, I have a job lead for a family who wants someone to drive their three boys (3.5, 7, and 8) to/from camp. Although nothing is set in stone, I've been emailing with the mom and she seems interested. She wants to call me today, so I should have a better idea as to whether or not this job will work out. If I get the job, I would work for 4 hours in the mornings, Monday-Friday. This means I will have time in the afternoon to see friends or work out. Plus, I have several families who plan on calling me for occasional babysitting. This past week and a half, I have babysat for a very sweet 8 year old girl who has a friendly golden retriever and an adorable kitten who is A LOT friendlier than my cat.

If I don't get the nanny job, I'm considering volunteering at the library or working at a day care. Honestly, I prefer working with older kids (5+), but I will work with younger kids if nothing else works out. Not only does the current state of our economy make job hunting difficult, but job hunting is especially difficult for college students who are only home for three months over the summer. Even finding volunteer work is hard, as many agencies require at least a six-month commitment because of the time it takes to train volunteers.

On Thursday, I am going to Portland where I will stay with friends for a few days. I will stay with MacKenzie Thursday and Sunday nights, and spend the weekend in Forest Grove with Traci. MacKenzie isn't sure if she has to work that weekend, but is going to try to switch her shift if she does have to work. I'm really excited because I haven't seen any of my college friends for six weeks (since school let out), and as much as I love my family, I really need a break from them. I also would like to go to the East Coast to see Cara and Caroline, but I haven't heard anything from them yet.

Other than the famous job hunt, I have been hanging out with friends. I went to the Holy Names and St. Mary's graduations last week, and it was awesome seeing my friends graduate. Last night I went to Antonia's grad party where I enjoyed meeting and talking to her friends. She's leaving for Nicaragua on Wendsday for two months, so it was really nice to be able to see her before she left. Arielle had jaw surgery on Friday, so I brought her a smoothie and hung out with her yesterday.

Hope you're enjoying your summer wherever you are!

Summer Update 1

Hello All!

Sorry I haven't written here in a while. I've been done with school for a little over two weeks now, and it is nice not having to worry about homework, papers, or grades for three and a half months. I am pleased to say that I got a C and passed stats--a major accomplishment!! Basically, I'm done with math FOREVER!!! I got B minuses in theology and human bio (my grade went up by two letter grades since the beginning of the semester). I got B's in English and psych, and an A in choir. My overall GPA for both semesters is 2.9, which is a B minus. A nice way to end the year :D

At this point, my summer plans are currently in the making. Most of you know now that I was offered an amazing opportunity to be a nanny for a month and a half in New Jersey that was taken away from me two days after I came back to CA after meeting the family. To make a long story short, the mom changed her mind at the last minute from needing childcare to household help. This was very disappointing, as I was excited about the job. If you don't already know the details, I'd be happy to fill you in.

On the plus side, I have been meeting with families who might need occasional babysitting. I'm also pursuing a job as a summer live-in nanny. I'm looking into doing some volunteer work with children. I have been offered a position as a volunteer instructor at a camp for kids with autism. However, that camp is one day a week for 8 weeks, so I'm finding out what else I can do the other four days during the week.

As far as travel goes, I don't have any definite plans. I'm hoping to make trips to see my friends in Portland and the East Coast (I have friends in South Windsor, CT and Longmeadow, MA). Besides these trips, I'm thinking about going to Netherlands to see my friend Megan who is an au pair there. Her sister is going to visit her for two weeks in July, and they want to do some traveling, so I'm hoping to join them.

Now you know what's going on in my world since I've finished school. I'll write more as I know my plans (:

Dead Week

This past week has been what UP students call "Dead Week." Don't worry, I will assure you no one died. It's simply the week before finals where we study our butts off and devote time to projects and papers. Quiet hours in the dorms are extended, so people can study and sleep.

Although I am taking five classes, I only have three tests to study for. For those of you who are not yet in college, you might be wondering, "how come you're taking five classes, but only have three tests?" Unlike high school where teachers are required to give written finals, professors are can decide as to whether or not they want to give finals. This semester I have tests in stats, theology, and English. I have a paper for my human bio class, and my psych final is optional. I'm not taking my psych final because I'm happy with my grade (B) and wanted to focus on my other classes in which I have tests (especially Stats). Though my bio professor is giving a test for the final, he is letting me write a paper because I've struggled on his tests and it is his way of recognizing my effort (I think I mentioned that I regularly visited him in office hours).

I'm not too worried about my theo and English finals, but I'm concerned about Stats. As most of you know, I hate math and it does not come easily to me. Unfortunately, UP's core requirements require math. I have a borderline grade that I'm desperately trying to pull up: I have a C minus, but need a C to pass. I'm two points away from being able to pass, so I've been studying my butt off this week. On the plus side, Stats is my first final (Tues afternoon), so I'll feel good about getting it out of the way. :D

On a nonacademic note, I am currently applying for an on-campus job and leadership position. The first postion (volunteer) that I applied for is an Orientation Assistant. (OA) The OA's are help with activities during Orientation weekend. I love showing people how fabulous UP is, so I want to help incoming freshman transition smoothly. Another plus is that I'll get to move in early since I'll have to attend a three day training. Although the original deadline for leadership positions was in March, there were posters around campus advertising for the position. Since I did not get chosen to be a Freshman workshop leader (see previous entries), I was able to apply. I should know next week as to whether or not I'll get the position.

The job that I'm hoping to get next year is student blogger. I would write a weekly blog for the Admissions office about my awesome life here at UP. All I would have to do is write one blog and have them ready by Monday morning. Luckily, I found out that not a lot of people have asked to write the blog and I'm the only psych major. This would work in my favor, as the admissions counselor I met with told me that he likes balance out the writers by class year, gender, and major. I also found out that I would get paid $8/week, totalling $25/month. It's not a lot, but I always appreciate the extra dough, which will go to my Salzburg fund (my friend Amy will be studying abroad next year, and I want to visit her over Christmas). Again, I should know by the end of next week.

Wish me luck on finals! (especially Stats) I will continue the blog over the summer, just not every week. If I do end up writing the blog for Admissions, I will not write on blogger but instead, give you the links to the UP blog. Until next week (:

Relay for Life and Antonia's visit

Today and yesterday I have been busy! Last night I participated in Relay for Life, a walk that raises cancer awareness. I have been interested in cancer awareness since my aunt was diagnosed with colon cancer three years ago. Last fall (Sept 2008), my mom lost one of her best friends from high school to breast cancer. In January, I emailed my friends and family asking them for donations. Some of my friends and I were on a team together, and had a goal of raising $1000. Although we did not raise this exact amount, we reached about 75% of our goal. I raised a total of $645, thanks to generous donations of family members and friends. I was especially touched on Friday that my favorite English professor made a donation to the cause.

The event itself lasted from 6PM yesterday to noon today. The ceremonies included prayers, introductions and guest speakers (a professor who is a cancer survivor and a parent of a UP alum who lost her youngest daughter to leukima) We also walked around the track, and teams had different booths with food and goodies to help raise money. Since my friend Antonia is going to Univeristy of Oregon (in Eugene), she and her mom drove there from Berkeley to attend a prospective student day. I invited her to spend the night with me, and we had a fabulous time together. We walked 11 laps, met my friends, ate a pint of Haagen-Daaz chocolate peanut butter ice cream, wrote a letter to our friend Megan (who is an au pair in the Netherlands), and explored campus. As luck would have it, we were walking from my dorm to the Cove (cafe in the student center), when we saw my English professor driving in his convertible. I introduced Antonia to him, and she was excited to finally meet him. I've told her so much about him, the first thing she said was "I've heard a lot about you."

My aunt Wendy (dad's sis) was diagnosed with colon cancer (fall 2005), so I took the picture on the right for her


Darling Daisies plus Antonia (L-R): Antonia,
Me, Dana (team captian), Traci, Kaelyn,
MacKenzie, and Ruth (team captian)


Antonia and I relaxing


We shared a pint of Haagen-Daaz chocolate
peanut butter ice cream. Delicious!


Roomies for life!

On an academic note, I'm getting to the home strech. Tomorrow night officially begins Dead Week, which means longer quiet hours in the dorms and intense studying. I have four more days left of classes. Since my psych prof is going to a conference Thursday, we don't have class. I'm ditching bio that day because we'll be reviewing for the test and I'm writing a paper instead. Plus it would be pointless for me to get up early when I don't have to go to class the next day. I'm coming home May 1st, so I will be in Portland for 12 more days. I'm really sad to leave my friends, but will be happy to have a break from school for four months.

A Fabulous Trip to my 19th State

I have officially been to 19 states. As some of you may know, my goal is to go to all 50 states before I turn 50. Thursday afternoon I flew from Portland to Arizona to spend time with Arielle and her family. I had a fabulous time and I wish was still there. Arielle has the week off for Easter, so she's staying until Saturday.

We got to her grandma's Thursday night, and stayed there every night except Friday. On Friday we stayed with Jordan, one of Ari's camp friends. She and her parents are super nice, and they have a cute Yorkshire terrier named Chester (who cuddled with me when I woke up Saturday morning). Jordan drove us around, and we made a pit stop at Dairy Queen. We don't have Dairy Queen in the Bay, so it's a treat for me when I'm on vacation. We rented Repo, a musical that despite being bloody, was lightened by the catchy songs. Jordan works at a cafe at a fancy health club, so we went with her and swam, worked out, and read. Luckily, Jordan got off work an a hour and a half early, so we went to Applebee's and met up with some of her friends.

After Jordan's parents dropped us of at Ari's grandma's place, we went to lunch at the Nieman Marcus cafe where that had delicious popovers. Popovers are these huge, light and airy rolls that come with delicious strawberry butter (I don't like butter, but this was yummy). Afterwards, we went shopping at Macy's and Nordstroms. At Macy's, Ari bought two prom/graduation dresses, while I bought a few tops for summer. I got a Nordstrom's gift card for graduation in June that I put to good use on two dresses and earrings. That night, Ari's cousin Maddy came over for dinner and hung out with us for a few hours.

Yesterday was Easter, so we spent the day with Ari's aunt and family. In the morning, we woke up to Easter baskets with chocolate bunnies, Peeps, chocolate eggs, and jelly beans.We had an Easter egg hunt, and I found eleven eggs with yummy chocolate. For lunch, Ari, Maddy, Mila (personal assistant), and I went to the Phoenician (fancy hotel) where we ate lunch outside. After an hour of swimming, we went back to her aunt's house where she made a delicious dinner, including a lemon cake with lemon curd for dessert.

On our way to the airport, we stopped at a pet store where we held the cutest puppies. Pet Landing is Ari's favorite pet store, and since you have to be 18 to hold the puppies, she got the pleasure of holding them for the first time. They were so cute, and I fell in love with the cutest golden retriever that I wanted to take home.

Anyways, I've been here for about two hours. Amy and I arrived at the same time, so we rode the Pilot Express (school shuttle) together, and got dinner. I had a fabulous time hanging out with Ari, Jordan, and her family that I wish I could still be there (not to mention the sun). However, I have two weeks of classes and one week of finals, so I'm confident that these last few weeks will go by quickly.

Good News, Registration, and Pre Frosh

I got my stats and bio tests back at the beginning of the week as well as good news: I got a C on my stats test and a C plus on my bio tests. My grades for both classes are C minuses, which means I am a few points shy of being able to pass the class (you have to get at least a C to pass). Both my math and bio professors are pleased with my improvement, and encouraged me to finish out the semester. I did not have to drop either class! Another bonus: My bio professor is letting me write a final paper instead of taking a test, so now I only have four finals instead of five.

This week, Catherine and I have also had the pleasure of hosting two prospective students. On Monday, we hosted Kristina, a senior from Fresno. She is interested in majoring in psych, and so I met her at the admissions office so I could take her to meet with one of the psych professors (who just happened to be my advisor). She came to choir, and enjoyed listening to us rehearse. Today is Weekend on the Bluff, so there were tons of prospective freshman and their parents walking around this afternoon. We volunteered to host a prospective student, and she is here right now. Her name is Lauren, and she's from Chico. Some of our friends also have prospective students staying with them, so we all walked around campus and took them to Pilotpalooza. Pilotpalooza is a big carnival with lots of free food, music, and activities such as fun houses and henna tattoo stations. Student groups, like Relay for Life and Campus Program Board (CPB, which plans campus activities), had posterboards and free goodies. Today was sunny, so Amy and I walked around and played catch outside. Quite rare for Portland weather. (:

On Wendnsday, I took MacKenzie to English with me. Her Bib Trad class is at the same time as my English class, but it got canceled that day. She was excited to go because I've told her so much about how I love that class and my professor. I introduced her to my professor, and she had the pleasure of seeing him act out scenes from Othello, engage my class in interesting discussions, tell stories about himself, and throw in a few swear words every now and then. She thought my professor was awesome, and the class was fun.

Another significant event in the week of most UP students was registration. For those of you not familiar with this process, let me tell you. You register based on your class year (number of credits you have earned) and the first letter of your last name. I'm a freshman and my last name starts with "E", so my group was able to register Wednesday morning. Since I registered on the second to last day of registration, you might be thinking that I was not able to get all of the classes I wanted. However, I was lucky and was able to get the classes, times, and professors I wanted. I'm really excited about my schedule, as I won't have any 8:10's (I've had two-both fall and spring semesters this year). Also, I won't have class until 12:55 Tuesdays and Thursdays. I will be getting three core classes out of the way, in addition to one class each for my major and minor. Next fall I'm taking Ethics, American Nonfiction Lit, Biblical Traditions and Culture (more commonly known as Bib Trad among UP students), Research Methods, and Powerful Ideas in Physical Science (my last science class!).

Despite having to write several papers, I am done with all major tests until finals. On the plus side, I only have 26 more days left of school. I'm sad that I won't be able to see my friends every day, but I'll be happy for a four month break from schoolwork. Next week I only have three days of classes, thanks to Founder's Day and Easter break. I'm excited to go to Arizona with Ari, and it will be nice to have break. Let's see if I can make it through these last 3 weeks of school!

Follow Up to My Crazy Week

Well, as of Friday, I am now an official survivor of test madness week. I had tests in English, stats, and human bio. I studied my butt off for the latter two with my friend Amy. Since Amy understands math more than I do, she did the problems on the board step-by-step. Her roommate and our friend Christina joined us Wed. and Thurs. since she had a test Friday (Amy and I are in the same class, but Christina isn't. All the stats classes use the same text). Surprisingly, when I took these tests, I felt like I really knew the material and am hoping I did better on these tests than I did on the previous ones. I don't want to drop the classes if I don't have to because we only have four more weeks left of classes.

Sadly, my bio professor is still frustrating. As ususal, I went to his office twice this week for help, but he was not very helpful. My friend Mallory who is a senior bio major was helping me study for this test. I showed her the power points, and she recognized many of the diagrams from her anatomy class (a 300-level course) two years ago. She thought it was outrageous that my professor was expecting a 100-level class to know as much as a 300-level class. She suggested I talk to the department chair, which I did on Thursday. Unfortunately, the department chair told me there was not anything she could do. Although she was nice and wasn't trying to be full of herself, I left feeling frustrated because I was not 100% convinced that she couldn't do anything.

Now that I'm done, I can take it easy and have fun. This week, we had three visitors. On Tuesday night, Cady's sister and a friend of hers spent the night and had lunch with us the next day. On Friday night, Cady's best friend spent the night. In honor of Africa Week, my friends and I went to see the documentary Invisible Children Friday night. Invisible Children is about the children in Uganda who are forced to be soldiers. :( Afterwards, we wrote letters to our senators asking them to increase foregin aid. Last night, some of my choir friends and I watched Jesus Christ Superstar, which essentially told the story of Jesus with music.

Remember how I told you last week about my English professor telling me he was pleased with my work in his class and admiring me for working so hard? On Monday, I wrote him an email telling him that what he said made my week. I also told him that as someone struggling in two classes, it meant a lot to me to hear that, and that he gives me hope that I can survive these last few weeks just by my knowing that I have a professor who genuinely cares about me as a student and person and sees what I can do. He wrote me back telling me that I don't have to be angry with myself for not being perfect or reaching every single goal, and that regardless of how I do in these classes, I have what it takes to reach my goals. He also gave me a quote that I have on post-its in my room and in purse: "everyone gets muddy from falling down and the thing to do is just get up, brush off the dirt, and keep at it." Whenever I feel stressed, anxious, or sad, I'd just look at the quote and think "I can do this, and I will get through it."

I will be getting both tests back next week, so let's hope that I did well enough so I don't have to drop the class. Think positive thoughts for me! :D

Tough Week

Unfortunately, I do not have much in the way of interesting blogging material. Classes started Monday, and I have been insanely busy. I have three tests next week, plus a paper due on Monday. I've been extremely stressed that I've been staying up later and waking up early to get work done. I caught up on sleep today, sleeping for 9.5 hours and waking up at 10:20.

Currently, I'm struggling with my stats and bio classes, so I'm studying for those like no other. I now have D+ in stats, thanks to getting an F on my second test. However, I'm hoping, more homework, my project, and recent quiz will pull my grade back up to the C that I maintained for eight weeks. Plus, my math professor is super nice and helpful during office hours.

Human bio has been a struggle, not only because the material is difficult, but that my professor is not very helpful. I've been going to my professor's office hours at least twice a week, but I cannot seem to bring my grade up. Luckily, I did some extra credit which I hope will raise my grade. I've told my professor that science does not come easily to me, and that I need him to explain the material. He's a smart guy and knows that I'm struggling; however, I'm frustrated that he cannot find a way to explain the material clearly and could not recommend a textbook, tutor, or another bio professor who could help. I really don't want to drop the class, but I may have to depending on how I do on my next test. There's only so much I can do, especially when my professor is not meeting me halfway. I don't expect him to be my best friend or even my favorite professor. All I want from him is to be able to explain the material clearly so I can understand it and get a C in the class.

Even though I've been feeling down and stressed out a lot, I had a wonderful experience with my English professor on Wednesday. I had a ton of questions for him about my draft of my poetry paper. Since this week is advising week, he only had five minutes when I came. After we talked about my questions, I said, "I'm sorry I had a lot of questions in such a short amount of time. I didn't think that we would be able to discuss my questions in a short amount of time. I wanted to make sure I got them answered so I can write a good paper." He said, "Don't worry about it. I'm really pleased at how well you're doing in class and how much effort you put into your writing. I admire you for that." I was almost in tears, and just wanted to say, "Do you know how much what you just said made my day? You have no idea how much I needed to hear this." It really meant a lot to me to hear from my professor that he sees how well I do and appreciates my hard work. Just having someone recognize my strengths keeps me going and gives me hope that I will be able to make it through this difficult time.

As my wonderful friend Antonia said, this experience will make me stronger. This is so true, and luckily, I have awesome friends here at UP who I can count on to help me get through this. I believe that I can do anything. I will do anything I can to reach my goal, and am not afraid to get help if I need it. Over these next few weeks, I will try to do as many say: think positive! (:

Back from Break: Can't it be longer?

I am back in Portland after a fabulous but short spring break. My spring break began last Friday afternoon when I spent the night at my friend MacKenzie's place. We ate pizza, watched House, and stayed up late talking. Her family took me to the airport the next day where I flew back to Oakland and spent a few days at home.

Since many schools did not have vacation during the same time I did, I did not get to see all of my friends. However, I did get to see two of my girlfriends over the weekend. Saturday evening Antonia and I got our nails done and had dinner at her house. Sunday evening Arielle and I had a yummy sushi dinner at Sushiya, and walked around Piedmont Ave. I also enjoyed lunches/dinners with family friends (Karen-the lovely mom of my favorite kids, Lynnie-dear family friend/pretend aunty). One of the highlights of my break was on Wednesday afternoon, when I had coffee with Dana Barnett, my awesome high school English teacher. She was one of my favorite teachers, so it was a real treat for me to catch up with her.

After spending a few days in the Bay Area, my mom and I went to Palm Springs to see my grandparents (dad's parents) who live there six months during the year. We hopped on a plane Thursday evening, and were supposed to see a show by Joel Grey that night, but it got canceled due to a "medical emergency." Once we found out that the show was canceled, we were figuring out what to do. Every time we go to Palm Springs, we always have a special tradition: a trip to Dairy Queen. There isn't a Dairy Queen in the Bay Area, and we always stop at one when we go on vacation. Thursday night we did just that, and I enjoyed a yummy vanilla soft serve cone dipped in chocolate. Friday and Saturday we ate at yummy restaurants, went shopping, and swam in the pool. My mom left Saturday evening, so my great aunt and I took her to the airport. My grandparents had a party they had to go to last night, so my great aunt and I went out to dinner and walked around the shopping center. I left Palm Springs early afternoon to return here, and I must say that since I've enjoyed the sun so much, it will take me some time to get used to the rain again!

Classes start tomorrow, which I must say I'm not looking forward to after being on break for a week. However, I think I'll get back into the swing of things. Luckily, I only have seven more weeks left until summer vacation. I'm amazed at how quickly time flies.

Visit with my parents

The highlight of this weekend was my belated birthday celebration and visit with my parents. They came here yesterday afternoon and we went downtown where I got a new purse and phone. I now have a Guess bag from Macy's that's big enough to carry my books yet stylish. My new cell is an LG3 Chocolate in blue. I also got a stylish Dooney and Bourke case (not real, of course).

Last night my parents took me and six of my girlfriends out to dinner to celebrate my birthday. We went to Lucca's, a delicious Italian restaurant about 15 minutes away from school. My parents and I went there with Cady and her parents during orientation weekend. We got some yummy pizzas and appetizers to share. Dessert was the best! I, along with some of my friends got profiteroles with caramel ice cream with chocolate and caramel sauces. There was also chocolate and toffee bark, which was also yummy. The waitress put a candle on my dessert and everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to me.

This morning my parents and I went to breakfast at Helser's, a restaurant about 15-20 mins away from campus in a little developing artsy district (on NE Alberta). I had a black bean chili scramble which was very filling but delicious. My parents dropped me off on their way to the airport. Even though our visit was short, it was nice to see them. They really enjoyed getting to know my friends and I know my friends enjoyed meeting them. Luckily, I get to see them in a week when I come home for spring break
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All of us at Lucca's: Megan, Kaelyn, MacKenzie, Dana, Cady, Traci, and me









Now that my parents are gone I've catching up on email and uploading pictures. I'm going to try to do catch up on homework. Cady has a concert tonight with her choir which I'm going to go to at 6. Should be fun. (:

Concert, Sick Season, and Friday Night

As we are getting closer to spring break here at UP (13 days to be exact), I have been extremely busy with tests, projects, and papers. Being sick makes getting things done harder because I don't have a lot of energy. On Thursday, I FINALLY found out what's wrong with my stomach: yeast infection. I took a pill on Friday and I'm supposed to see improvement in 3 days. I'm also supposed to avoid sugar for a while because it feeds on yeast. ): Not easy for this sweet tooth gal, but smoothies and sugar free popsicles have made this doable. (: However, I've also been fighting a sore throat since Thursday. Fortunately, I haven't lost my voice yet, which was great since my concert was last night.

What concert, you may be wondering? I am a member of the Choral Union, a women's choir that brings together both students and community members. Last night we had our first concert which was great. We sang a medley of Irving Berlin classics ("Putting on the Ritz," "Let's Face the Music and Dance," and "Steppin' Out with My Baby"), Portrait in Blue ("Birth of the Blues," "Am I Blue?" and "Blues in the Night"), and a medley of songs from Hairspray ("Good Morning Baltimore," "I Can Hear the Bells," and "Welcome to the 60's"). We had soloists for "Good Morning Baltimore" and "I Can Hear the Bells." I have a lot of fun in choir, and it is one of the highlights of my week.

My friend Kaelyn's family have been here in Portland for the past few days. On Friday night, they came here and we played Apples to Apples, which was a lot of fun. After we hung out with Kaelyn and her family, we decided to call it a night. I went to bed hoping I could get some much needed hours of sleep. Unfortunately, at 4 AM I heard a noise. I woke up to see if it was an alarm or a fire drill. I stepped outside of my room and saw people running down the hall so my roommate and I followed the suit, freezing cold and unhappy to be woken up from sleep. My friends and I were mad at whoever pulled the fire alarm, but I later found out that someone left a burner upstairs on the 5th floor. Still, I would have prefered to sleep at that hour instead of standing outside in the freezing cold quad. Luckily, I was able to get 6 more hours of sleep.

Valentines Day!

An update on my two week stomach bug: On Wednesday, I got my blood drawn. Fortunately, the results came back normal. Unfortunately, the symptoms aren't going away so I'm getting tested for parasites. Even though I was glad my blood test was normal, it's frustrating not knowing what's going on. Hopefully, I'll know next week.

A little piece of good news to share: Arielle, my best girl back home, got into UP! She's hoping to visit in April when she comes here with her choir. In addition to UP, she also got into ASU (AZ State), CSU SF and East Bay.

Despite being a single gal, my friends and I still celebrated Valentines day by watching movies and eating yummy desserts. On Friday night, three of my friends and I made cookies in the microwave. They stuck together, but turned out to be yummy. Twilight was playing on campus this weekend, and since I missed it in theaters at home, my friends and I went to see it. The movie wasn't quite as good as the book, but I'm glad to say that I saw the movie.



Yesterday my friends and I went downtown where we saw a movie and had dessert afterwards. We saw He's Just Not that into You, which was not my favorite movie, but the ending was sweet and my friends liked it. After the movie, we trekked to Rose's, a delicious bakery behind the Llyod Center. I had a latte and an excellent chocolate croissant that made me feel like I was in Paris again.


Roommate picture!

My parents also thought of me in honor of Valentines Day. My dad sent me cards (one was from Lily, my beloved kitty), a heart paperweight, and a pen he made in his wood turning class. I love how the pen feels, and homemade gifts rock! My mom sent me heart magnets and sticky notes, in addition to lots of goodies, which I've been sharing with my friends.

Pictures of downtown Portland

A Few Highlights That Balanced out Winter Sickness

Unfortunately, I still have this nasty stomach bug I had last. ): I started eating regular food Monday night, and have had various responses to eating (eat little, can't finish everything, don't have problems). I went to the Health Center on Friday and the nurse thinks I have stomach infection and gave me some meds that I have to take twice a day before meals. If I'm still feeling sick next week, I'll have to get blood work done. Sadly, I'm starting to feel sick again like I did last weekend. I also had a bit of a sore throat yesterday, but it's pretty much gone. Fortunately, I was not contagious so I was able to go to classes. (:

Despite being sick and busy, I was able to have some fun. On Wednesday night, I went to a reading by Anna Keesey, a local fiction writer, with my friends MacKenzie and Dana. She read us excerpts from Little Century, her current novel in progress, and was very passionate about her work. After she was done reading, my friends and I met her and enjoyed talking with her. We're required to attend one reading or lecture for our English classes, but we had so much fun that we're going to attend more.

Friday night was essentially a night of pure fun. My friends and I decided to switch things up and go to the Cove (cafe in the student center) instead of the Commons (cafeteria) for dinner. Our RA hosted a make your own "Where am I?" board event. She brought magazines, magazines, scrapbook and colored construction paper and we made boards telling others where we were. We also had cupcakes, which of course, were yummy. Later that night, we watched Armageddon, an action movie with a little bit of romance.

Yesterday, my sore throat was bothering me so I relaxed and did a little homework. Last night I went to Nicola's, a delicious Italian restaurant with my friends and some friends of my friend Traci. Since there were ten of us, we got to eat in the private room. I had a veggie calzone and it was to die for!

That's all for now. Until next week!

My Birthday from Good to Bad

As most of you know, Thursday was my birthday. I am 19, and as far as I'm concerned, it does not feel much different that being 18. I know it's my last year as a teenager, but I don't think this will hit me until next year when I turn 20.


My day started out well. Thursday morning my friend MacKenzie woke up early (she doesn't have class until 2:30) just to give me my birthday crown, sash, and earrings that she bought at Claire's when we were there last week. I wore it for most of the day and tons of people wished me happy birthday. I also got lots of texts, cards, and calls from friends and relatives alike.


In addition to the cards and calls, I got some nice presents. My first present came last Friday, and was the book Marley and Me, from my dear family friend Lynnie. The book is about a dog, and Lynnie is a dog lover with two wonderful dogs of her own. I enjoy going for walks with her and her dogs when I am home, and her dogs have become my adopted dogs. On Thursday I got roses from my parents (which is quite fitting since Rose is my middle name), and a cute box and 2 dark chocolate bars from my friend Hayley. My friend Bryce got me a Border's giftcard, which I'm excited to put to good use. Both my grandparents sent me checks that I plan to put in my savings account or spend in some way.

Despite all the fabulous gifts, cards, calls, texts, and birthday love, my night did not end favorably. I got sick late Thursday night with a stomach bug. I'm not sure what caused it because I had a Mongolian grill (veggie, tofu, and shrimp stir fry) in the Commons. I've had this plenty of times and never gotten sick from it. That night, I was studying with my friend Amy for a stats quiz. Her roommate Christina had this Xanga drink (exotic juice which she said includes pomegrante). Although I'm not 100% sure, I think the juice is what caused me to be sick.

I woke up with a low fever (100.5 to be exact) Friday morning so I had to miss classes. ): Thanks to my understanding professors, I am able to take my stats quiz and turn my English assignments in Monday. Although my fever was gone by Friday night, my stomach is not better. I'm well enough to go to classes, but I still have to be careful of what I eat. My diet this weekend has been fluids (tea, water, cranberry juice), dried cranberries, cereal, pasta, crackers, and soup. I've also been living off Pepto. Not exactly how I want to be eating on my birthday weekend

My family was supposed to come in this weekend and take my friends and I out for dinner. Since my stomach is not better, I did not want to go out and not enjoy my birthday meal or worry about getting sick from something. I spent this weekend resting and catching up on homework. I'm really bummed that I got sick this weekend because my family was excited to visit and I was so excited for my friends to meet my family (and they were excited to meet my family). Fortunately, my mom's going to look at her calendar and find some dates when they can come and visit. So now you know why I don't have a lot of pictures. Hopefully, I'll have some when my parents visit!

A Busy but Fun Second Week

I have had an eventful second week. Not surprisingly, I've been pretty busy with homework, especially at the beginning of the week. I had to make graphs in Excel for stats, and took me FOREVER! This resulted in my getting behind with reading for other classes, particularly English. My professor was back Monday, so now I have to stay on top of my short stories. Fortunately, I got all my assignments done when I needed to get them done (:

On Thursday, I submitted my Workshop Leader Application. If you don't go to UP, you are probably wondering what a Workshop Leader is. For the first 10 weeks of the year, the freshman take a no-credit class where they learn things like studying for tests, transportation, campus life, registration, and other information that is important in being a college student. These workshops are taught by upper class students, and the students in the workshop share a class (the people in my workshop were in my communications class). I just had to answer a lot of questions and get three recommendations (RA, com. professor, workshop leader). I'll have my interview next month, but I won't find out if I got the position until March. Wish me luck!

On Friday, my friend Megan left for the Netherlands. She's going to be an au pair there for a year. She is one of my closest friends and I'm sad that I won't get to see her when I come home for breaks. ): She has been trying to get an au pair job for over a year, so I'm really happy that she finally found a job. She's not going to have a phone, but we'll keep in touch via Facebook and email.

Yesterday I went downtown to Llyod Center with some friends. The Llyod Center is a huge mall in downtown Portland with many fabulous stores, plus a food court, movie theater, and an ice skating rink. Our first stop was Claire's, where my friend Dana got her ears pierced. My friend MacKenzie also bought me a crown and sash that I'm going to wear on my birthday (I'll have pictures for my birthday next week).


When I woke up this morning, I looked outside my window to see SNOW! It was just an inch, but it was so pretty and an unusual sight for this Cali girl. Here's what it looks like from my room.


Anyways, my birthday is on Thursday and my family is coming here on Saturday. I'll have more to say about these events then. Until next time!

First Week Back!

I've been back a week, and it's been an exciting but busy week. I can't believe I'm back on the Bluff after a month off. I am thrilled that I get to see my friends every day, but I could do without homework. So far, I really like my classes and professors. I'm taking Theology, Stats, English, Human Bio, and Cross Cultural Psych. I'm also in Choral Union, which is one credit but all you have to do is show up and you get an A! Plus, I have it with two of my friends and we're singing Broadway songs (including Hairspray!), which I'm psyched about.

My friends (this week MacKenzie, Megan, and Cady) are getting into going to the gym with me. I try to exercise 5-6 days a week, and I'm much more motivated when I have friends with whom I can excercise. My friends are excited to work out, which of course, gets me excited too!

This week the Freshman Resource Center had applications for Workshop leaders, so I picked one up am currently working on it. Hopefully, I'll have the wonderful opportunity of helping freshman get adjusted to college. :D

Anyways, here are the highs and lows of my classes.

Theology: The first of my three theology classes covers world religions. Since I went to Catholic school, this class is basically what I did in the spring of my junior year. It shouldn't be too hard. My professor is a priest (and a Bay Area native!), but he told us the first day that he is interested in other religions and is not a biblical literalist. Right now we're just discussing the basics of religion.

Stats: Stats is my first and last math course here at UP. I'm NOT a math person, so this is good news for me. However, as a psychology major, it is essential that I can understand statistics (even though I'm not going to do research). Right now we're just learning about studies and how to conduct surveys. We have to do a group project (3 people per group) where we do a survey and collect data. This class seems hard, but so far, Dr. Niederhausen (my prof) seems really nice and knows what she is talking about. I haven't had good math teachers since middle school, so I'm happy to finally have a good teacher for a difficult subject. Also, I've met some people in my class who I hope to have study parties with :D

English: I took AP Lit in high school, so the class I'm taking now is the equivalent to my high school class. Unfortunately, I did not score high enough to place out, so I was bummed when I found out I had to take it again. Although it would have been nice to have one less class, I love English so I don't mind that I have to take it now. Also, two aspects make this class great: my friend Dana and I have it together and our professor is AWESOME! He spent about half of our class telling us stories about himself. Unfortunately, I only had this class Monday because our prof has been sick. ): I'll tell you more about it once I have more classes.

Human Bio: I'm not a science person, but I have to take 2 science classes as part of the core requirements to graduate. Luckily, UP gets that not everyone is a science person, so they offer "SCI" classes, which are classes for nonscience people and don't have labs. I'm interested in the human body/health, and the topics we're going to cover seem interesting. However, it's going to be hard because the power points are really detailed and cover every little detail of the different systems (right now its the endocrine and reproductive systems). Also, the 2 power points were 25 and 40 pages each, and my prof emailed them to us at 7 pm the night before the class (which is at 8:10 ):). My prof's a cool guy; it's just that I don't understand everything he puts in his power points. Hopefully, a visit during office hours or questions in class while clear up my confusion. Luckily, I've found people who are just as confused as I am who would be great study buddies.

Cross Cultural Psych: This class essentially studies psychological and social differences between cultures. I took intro to psych and sociology last year, so there's some overlap. We don't have tests (except the final), just quizzes every week. We also have projects and presentations which should be interesting. My prof does not lecture the whole time (unlike my prof last semester), and she's super friendly and enthusiastic about the subject material.

Anyways, that's all for now. Until next time!